Making splice-bars.



. E. E. SLICK.

MAKING SPLIGE BARS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1, 191a.

1,121,676. Patented Dec. 22, 1914.

THE NORRIS PETERS Cc PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHING TON D. C.

EDWIN E. SLICK, 0F WESTMONT BOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

MAKING SPLICE-BARS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN E. SLICK, a a

citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of \Vestmont, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and .useful Improvements in Making Splice-Bars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates generally to an improved splioe-bar for the abutting ends of railroad rails and one which is well adapted to maintain the same in alined position both vertically and laterally and to provide a junction therefor, which is uninterrupted and of substantially the same strength and elasticity as the body or intermediate portions of the said rails, all of which conduces v to a smooth andeasy-riding track.

In my complete improved rail joint, of

which the splice-bar referred ;to herein,

forms a substantial and important part, the outsides of the heads of the abutting rails are cut away for a short distance, the portions of the cuts nearer the rail ends being substantially parallel to and a prolongation of the outer surface of the rail web, the cut on each rail head thence merging laterally and gradually in 'a concave curved form until its surface intersects the outer surfaces of the rail head. By the outer surfaces of the rail head, .I mean those on the outside of the track, as distinguished from the inner surfaces of the rail head, which are on the inside or what is known as the gage side of the I track. The outer surfaces of the head of the rail are, therefore, that'portion which does not contact, with the flanges of the wheels of the rolling stock, or with that portion of the wheel tread adjacentto the flanges of the same; whereas the inside or gage side of the rail head is that which-contacts with said portions and guides the wheels by means of their flanges.

On the outer side of the ends of the'rails,

the heads of which are'cut as aforesaid, I provide my novel form of splice-bar of peculiar conformation, the extending end portions of the preferred form of which are adapted to fit into what are known as the fishing angles, that is, underneath the Specification of Letters Patent. Patented De 22 1914 Application filed August 1, 1913. Serial No. 782,432.

rail heads and on top of the rail base flanges, and I provide aclearance or distance between said outer splice-bar and the rail web and head to allow it to be drawn up and tightened and therebymake. a rigid joint, and also thus provide for wear or to take up any looseness of, or slack between, the contact surfaces. The central or intermediate part of my splice-bar is provided with an upwardly extending portion which is adapted to fit within the cuts in the outer sides of the rail heads, as previously mentioned, the form of this upwardly projecting portion being such that the cross section of the rail head is substantially restored by this projection, so that at the joint the shape and form of the rail heads are substantially where, while the central portion of my improvedouter, splice-bar provides .a bridge which enables the car wheels to pass over the joint or space between the abutting ends of the rails without jar.

In order that the rail head portion of myouter splice-bar may best serve its purpose, I prefer to formsaidsplice-bar of hard and tough steel material due to high carbon content or otherwise, or of approximately the same composition and physical qualitiesas the rail head itself, or, I may even make it somewhat harder, tougher and more elastic by different composition or by heat treatment, that is, by heating the bars to the required temperature, quenching and annealing them in oil or other. media.

Having thus given this general description of my invention, I will now,'in order to make the matter more clear, refer to the annexed one sheet of drawings which form part of this specification and in which like splice-bar in connection with the abutting ends of a pair of rails. Fig. 2 is a top plan of my outer splice-bar in its finished or completed form. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the channel bar, as rolled, from which my splice-bar is formed, the dotted preliminary step in the manufacture of my splice-bar. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of my splice-bar showing in dotted lines the contour of the upper flange of the channel bar before it is cut or formed, and in full lines, the bar, the upper part of which is pressed into its final shape. Fig, 6 is a transverse vertical section of a form of rolled channel bar from which my improved splice-bar may be manufactured. Fig. 7 is a perspective View taken from the inner side of my improved outer splice-bar in its finally finished form.

Referring now to the various characters of reference on the drawings, the ends of the heads of the track rails are indicated as 1 and 2 respectively, with an expansion space 5 between their ends, the central straight cut-out portions of same being indicatedat 33 which merge into the curved cuts &4 which again merge into the outer surfaces 6 of'the rail heads.

The web of the rail is indicated as 7, the base flanges thereof are 8 and the inclined under surface of the rail head is 9;

The inclined upper surface of the rail base is indicated at 10, these surfaces 9 and 10 together forming what is known as the fishing angle or surfaces upon which the splice-bar fits and is securely wedged by the action of the splice bolts.

My improved outer splice-bar in general is indicated at 11, the upper flange of the rolled channel bar from which it is formed being indicated at 12.

13 is an upper inwardly projecting rib of the splice-bar; 141- is the web of the same; 15 is the lower inwardly projecting rib of the splice-bar; 16 is the lower inclined flanged portion of the same, the lower surface of which is indicated as 17 adapted to contact with and rest on the upper portion of the base flange 10 of the rail. After my improved splice-bar is rolled of cross section shown in Fig. 6, it is cut into suitable lengths, as indicated in Figs. 1 to 1-, the end portions of the upper flange are then sheared or cut as indicated by the dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 4:, these cut-out portions being indicated as 18.

The central upwardly extending portion of the finished splice-bar is indicated at 19, I

and outwardly in a curved direction asshown at 22. Y

The inner inclined face of the splice-bar which fits under the rail head is indicated as 23, while 24: are bolt holes in the splicebars which are secured in position by the bolts 25 and nuts 26.

:After the splice-bar is rolled of the cross section, shown in Fig. 6, the end portions of the upper flange are cut away as heretofore described, whereupon the blank-is preferably heated and placed between forming dies, which press the upper central and ad j acent portions and bend the remaining portions of the flange 22 into the downwardly sloping and curved forms, all as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 7 of the drawings. 7 I

My splice-bar is of novel and useful construction in that it is without sharp or reentrant angles, nor does it have abrupt changes of section, and it will be noted that the upper flange is cut away in a curved form and merges gradually downward from its upper portion to and integral with that part which fits under the rail head.v The step of first rolling a barof channel form, as

shown in Fig. 6, then cutting off the end portions of its upper flanges and then pressingand forming the bar into its finished shape, is a novel and particular feature of my invention and one which I desire to drum and cover.

Although I have shown and described my improvements in considerable detail, I do not wish to be limited to theexact and specific details shown and described, but may use such substitutions, modifications or equivalents thereof, as are embraced within the scope of my invention, as pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I'claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The method of making a splice-bar which consists in rolling a bar of channel form with outwardly diverging flanges joined by a web member, then cutting off the end'portions of the upper one of said flanges by sloping cuts, and then bending extending therefrom at angles substantially equal to the fishing angles of a rail, then.

cutting off each end portion by a sloping EDWIN E. SLICK.

cut, leavingthe intermediate portion uncut, then pressing said intermediate portion upwardly and approximately into line With the Web, and shaping the same to approxi- 5 mately a segmental form adapted to fit Within a corresponding recess in the rail heads.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0." t

Witnesses:

GEO. E. THACKRAY, PLUMA F. LONGSLIOREJ' 

